Hi, I'm Calvin. I'm 10 and I live on the Isle of Skye in Scotland with my family. My mom asked me to write about what it's like here so this could be a homeschool assignment. So here you go.

The good parts

The Isle of Skye is really beautiful. Like, really really beautiful. Every time we drive somewhere my mom says "it's so beautiful" and she's right but she says it a LOT. The mountains look different every day depending on the weather and the light. Sometimes they're purple. Sometimes they look like they're on fire when the sun goes down.

We hiked the Old Man of Storr and it was awesome. You can see the rock pinnacle from where we live and it looks cool from far away but up close it's way bigger than you think. The hike is steep and my sister complained the whole way up but the view from the top was worth it.

There are Highland cows everywhere. They're called "coos" here. They have long hair over their eyes and they look like they're wearing wigs. My favorite ones are the orange ones. My mom is obsessed with them.

Things I like to do here

I go to archery with my dad at ACE Target Sports. He shoots a traditional bow and I shoot a recurve bow. I'm getting pretty good. My dad says I'm a natural which I think means he's surprised I'm better than him already.

I read a lot. I have a Kindle and I've read like 50 books this year, maybe more. Right now I'm into fantasy and adventure books. My favorite series changes every month. I also like to read before bed while everyone else is asleep which is when the house is the quietest.

Lego is still my favorite thing to build. I like Star Wars sets and Minecraft sets the best. My mom and dad say I can't get any more Lego until we have the cottage finished because there's no room. So basically I'm waiting for a house to be built so I can get more Lego.

I play Minecraft and Command and Conquer on the computer. My dad taught me C&C which is really old but actually really fun. Don't tell him I said that.

The boring parts

It rains. A lot. Like, a LOT a lot. Sometimes it rains for days and you can't really go anywhere. We don't have the cottage yet so we're in a rental and when it rains we're all stuck inside together which is fine for about an hour and then everyone gets annoyed at everyone.

The sun goes down at like 3:30 in winter which is weird. It feels like bedtime at 4pm. My mom puts on twinkly lights and we watch movies but I still think it's weird.

Everything closes early or is closed on Sundays. My dad has been surprised by this approximately one thousand times.

The cottage

We bought a really old cottage and we're fixing it up. Right now it doesn't have a roof or walls inside. It's basically just a pile of rocks. But my dad says it's going to be amazing when it's done. I helped tear out some of the old stuff which was actually really fun. I found some cool old stuff behind the walls but I'm not allowed to say what because my mom wants to do a post about it.

My room is going to be upstairs. I already know where I'm putting my Lego shelf.

Tips if you visit

Bring a raincoat. Not a jacket, an actual raincoat. The rain here goes sideways sometimes.

The hot chocolate at the cafe in Portree is really good. I don't remember the name but it's the one with the blue door.

If you like hiking, the Fairy Pools are cool but bring shoes you don't mind getting wet because the trail is basically a river. Also there are no actual fairies. My sister was disappointed.

The ferry to Skye is not the only way to get here. There's a bridge. My dad was confused about this for an embarrassingly long time.

Highland coos are friendly but don't try to pet them because they have really big horns and also they might not want to be petted and you should respect that.

That's my guide. My mom says I have to add that she edited it for spelling but these are my words. Which is true. Thanks for reading.